Monday, May 14, 2007

Lessons learned from the vacation-from-h-e-double-hockey-sticks

Here are some lessons learned (or confirmed) by our recent trip:- Don't carry every bit of plastic you have (already did this one- I'd recently "weeded" my wallet down to three credit cards from seven).- Keep the set of unique cards between you and your spouse's wallets greater than zero (already had this one, it saved our bacon).- Carry one or two cards on you, and keep one in your bag back at the hotel.- Keep more cash on you (and back in your bag) than you normally do (this one also saved our bacon).- Keep a photocopy of some kind of ID in your bag back at the hotel (I always have a couple photocopies of my passport stashed in various places when traveling internationally, but wasn't doing it domestic).- Confirm last 4 digits of a credit card you're canceling with the operator before it gets canceled.- Figure out the travel logistics of your trip ahead of time, and check into mass transit options for airport->hotel travel. In this case, there was a reasonable MetroRail ride from LAX to Anaheim that would've saved us some trouble and expense with returning our rental car.- Don't rely on cabs unless you know how expensive they are in the city you're visiting.- Don't rely on a hotel shuttle unless you can verify its schedule and frequency ahead of time. - Even though it says to (why?), don't carry your long-term parking ticket with you.